Pop artist Andy Warhol brought contemporary art into the realm
of Impressionism at this week’s New York art auctions, with one
of his works fetching an astounding $71.7 million.
** BIG NEW MONEY FLOODS GLOBAL ART MARKET, DOZENS OF RECORDS SET AT NEW YORK ART AUCTIONS. Big new money floods the art market, which has become global, with Andy Warhol’s record price suddenly hitting the stratrospheric levels of the Impressionists. Dozens of post-war and contemporary artists hit record prices at the New York art auctions this week. Where is the money coming from?
One clue came on the Sotheby’s tote board, which added the Russian ruble to the euro, the American dollar, the British pound, and the Swiss franc as a principal transactional currency. While much of the ultra-big money is in the hands of Russian oligarchs seeking to acquire class, or at least cachet, much of it is also from Asia, the Middle East, and America. A Hong Kong billionaire is believed to be the buyer — bidding over the phone — of the Warhol “Green Car Crash,” which depicts the aftermath of a car wreck, driver impaled on a pole, with a green wash over it all. He spent $17.4 million, then a record for the Pop Art master who died in 1987 due to botched hospital care, late last year for one of Warhol’s iconic Mao portraits. Warhol, incidentally, wanted to do the official portrait of then Governor Jerry Brown — which hangs in the California State Capitol — but Brown turned him down.
** AMERICAN SOLDIERS STILL MISSING. The three American soldiers captured last Saturday south of Baghdad in an Al Qaeda ambush that killed the other five members of their patrol are still missing, despite a massive manhunt by US and Iraqi forces. The longer it takes, the more difficult it is to sustain the operational tempo of such a search. Some earlier predictions by some commentators that the search was closing in proved to be erroneous.
** HILLARY AND WAL-MART. Hillary Clinton is putting on a very impressive drive to win labor backing in her campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. But something she doesn’t talk about — in fact, it’s not in her bio — is her six-year tenure back in her Arkansas days on the board of directors of one of the biggest companies in the world. Wal-Mart. The company is famously anti-labor, and a report in tomorrow’s New York Times says she didn’t really rock the boat there.
** SARKOZY’S CENTRISM. Although many on the American right had hailed the impending election of Nicholas Sarkozy as president of France, he is proving to be more the centrist than they had convinced themselves he was. “I will defend the independence of France. I will defend the identity of France,” said Sarkozy in his inaugural address earlier this week. “There is a need to unite the French people … and to meet commitments because never before has public confidence been so shaken and so fragile.”
In an address which sounded not unlike Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s post-partisanship, he then declared that he was placing the fight against climate change at the center of his agenda. Which is not exactly a priority of American conservatism, needless to say.
And now he has appointed his Cabinet. Half are women. His defense minister is a centrist. And his foreign minister is a famous Socialist, Bernard Kouchner, a co-founder of Doctors Without Borders and a former minister of health and UN governor of Kosovo.
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27 Comments
1. Jonas Blane:We’ll never get those soldiers back.
May 19, 2007 - 10:28 am 2. Ann:What makes Warhol a great artist? I don’t think he draws very well.
May 19, 2007 - 10:44 am 3. Bill Bradley:Warhol is the artist of fame and death.
May 19, 2007 - 10:52 am 4. Bill Bradley:As for our captured troops, it’s looking very bad.
May 19, 2007 - 10:56 am 5. Ann:Whatever. I’m glad Jerry Brown turned down Warhol.
May 19, 2007 - 11:00 am 6. Sacramento Solon:Ann,
Have you seen Jerry’s picture in the Capitol? Not sure Warhol could have done anything much more anti-establishment.
May 19, 2007 - 11:38 am 7. Bill Bradley:There’s still a Warhol in the Capitol. A portrait of Maria Shriver commissioned by a certain Austrian-American gentleman.
May 19, 2007 - 11:55 am 8. Bill Bradley:I think also that at the time when Brown was selecting the artist for his official portrait, Warhol was seen as being even more of a glitzy/money/trendy artist, and he didn’t want to be associated with that.
May 19, 2007 - 12:07 pm 9. Sacramento Solon:While that may be so, Jerry’s stands as the most untraditional of any portrait hanging. I would say that Gray’s, which I believe was drawn on the beach in Monterey, stands as second. Unless I’m mistaken, and that has been know to happen, all the other former governor portraits are very traditional.
And, before you flame, I’m not saying that either is bad. Just that both are against the norm.
May 19, 2007 - 1:04 pm 10. Ann:And Warhol’s not a “glitzy/money/trendy” artist now? lol
May 19, 2007 - 1:07 pm 11. richard locicero:Anyone hear “Songs for Drella” Lou Reed and john cale’s tribute to Warhol? I think BB is right. Warhol would have been too conroversial a choice for Jerry.
May 19, 2007 - 1:30 pm 12. Jonathan Hemlock:I would never take on a contract in exchange for a Warhol.
May 19, 2007 - 3:15 pm 13. Bill Bradley:Warhol comes with a ton of cultural and psychosexual baggage, there’s no question about that.
I remember he did a portrait of Jane Fonda in the same year he wanted to do Jerry Brown’s official portrait for the Capitol.
May 19, 2007 - 4:41 pm 14. Bill Bradley:What Dr. Hemlock is saying, incidentally, is that he wouldn’t kill someone for a Warhol. It’s a little joke, I suppose.
May 19, 2007 - 4:43 pm 15. Barbara:in 1960 David RockEfeller bought a ROTHKO for 10 thousand that he sold at sotheby this past week for 72.8 million …
May 19, 2007 - 9:34 pm 16. Sacramento Solon:Sarkozy ran on an ambitious agenda…it looks like he has put a team together to fit his agenda not an ideology. I think he will be very good for France. beatiful weather in n. califoria…i am in Napa with friends and just came back from a reception at Studio II Gallery.. …art is wonderful …i never miss second sat in sacto if I am in town..people should support local artists by showing up even if they don’t buy….
For those in the Sacramento area, Comcast channel 52 is having a MASH marathon. I’ve just watched two episodes and haven’t laughed so hard in years. Forgot how great the program was…
Barbara,
Thanks for checking in from Napa. The day just wasn’t the same without you. However, I’m still waiting for my tout on the Preakness.
May 19, 2007 - 9:58 pm 17. Barbara:Sac solon ……you shoul never bet on a horse like a pretty woman …totally unpredictable…actually I did check in during the morning on previous post …re Paris Match coverage of Sarkozy including a wonderful photo of Sarkozy and Obama! I am just settling down with a class of wine and The New Yorker piece by Connie Bruck on ANTONIO…There are guests here from LA and the owners of house live in SF…so we have been discussing the 2 mayors….I said I want Antonio to help OBAMA… We may be split on the mayors but we are all voting for Obama….Mr Bradley my friends have a willem de kooning…and they love Warhol too…
May 19, 2007 - 10:31 pm 18. Sacramento Solon:Barbara,
Not what my daddy taught me. He was a tout. Had one of the biggest tipping services in this country during the 40’s. Made tons of money, funny he also spent tons of money. But that’s a story for a different time and place.
However, what Dad taught me was to never bet on chalk. That’s unless you have lots of money or just want to hold a winning ticket. Since I’ve never met either of those conditions, I long long shots.
Now that you mention it, I do recall you earlier post.
Enjoy your weekend. This old guy is hitting the sack. Many miles to cover in the morning and then a trip to Old Soul to hear some jazz.
May 19, 2007 - 10:53 pm 19. Jonas Blane:Lou Reed?
May 20, 2007 - 7:16 am 20. Bill Bradley:Good point about the Rothko, which of course is Abstract Expressionism, pre-’60s. Warhol’s works sold for very big money at both Sotheby’s and Christie’s.
I do hate reading about how one of the richest men in the world bought something for $10K and sold it for $72M.
May 20, 2007 - 9:50 am 21. Ann:I still don’t like Warhol.
May 20, 2007 - 10:20 am 22. RM 'Auros' Harman:I’m amazed that Hil has as good relations with the unions as she does. The ’90s saw a cessation of active federal gov’t attacks on unions, but there wasn’t much enthusiasm for helping them… Obama, on the other hand, seems to be backing some pro-union proposals, and Edwards is strongly pro-union…
May 20, 2007 - 10:49 am 23. Bill Bradley:She’s been the unquestioned frontrunner, she has Bill and La Machine, and she is very good before the union audiences. I’ve been to a couple myself, and she is very effective and gets a very good response.
May 20, 2007 - 5:32 pm 24. Bill Bradley:So, Barbara, which do you prefer, Abstract Expressionism or Pop?
May 20, 2007 - 5:40 pm 25. Ann:The Clintons are pro-union. They don’t only run in Democratic primaries.
May 20, 2007 - 8:53 pm 26. Capitol Boy:The less it looks like Hillary is inevitable, the less her labor support will be.
May 21, 2007 - 7:08 am 27. Bill Bradley:NWN, incidentally, hit the 30,000 comments mark last week.
May 21, 2007 - 10:37 am